1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for using an Internet protocol television (IPTV) service, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for transmitting and receiving an application associated with an IPTV service.
2. Description of the Related Art
An Internet protocol television (IPTV) service refers to the delivery of services such as information, video contents, and broadcasting to a TV over an IP network, that is, a super-high-speed Internet network. Amid increasing interest in the IPTV service as integration of communication and broadcasting gets under way, it is expected that activation of the IPTV service will have considerable influence upon the industries of contents and home appliances as well as the industries of communication and broadcasting.
According to conventional arts, an IPTV user must have a different set-top box for a different IPTV vendor to receive an IPTV service over an IP network. In other words, only a user having an IPTV set-top box manufactured in accordance with a standard defined by an IPTV service provider can receive an IPTV service of the IPTV service provider. For example, if there are three IPTV service providers of companies A, B, and C, a service consumer purchasing a set-top box of the company A can use only an IPTV service of the company A and must have a separate set-top box of the company B or C in order to use an IPTV service of the company B or C. Such a problem of compatibility between an IPTV service and a set-top box reduces service consumers' choices, deteriorating the quality of the IPTV service or hindering the expansion of the IPTV service base.
To solve the compatibility problem, the Open IPTV Forum has recently been formed and is discussing standardization. This Forum is establishing a common standard which is not dependent on IPTV service providers and a discussion for providing IPTV services to service consumers based on the common standard is under way.
The Open IPTV Forum aims to allow users to easily use IPTV services provided by a plurality of IPTV service providers by making an interface and a hardware platform which are not dependent on the IPTV service providers. According to the Open IPTV functional architecture, a user can use IPTV services provided by a plurality of different IPTV service providers without needing to have different set-top boxes for the different IPTV service providers, whereby the user can have more choices between services.
In order to allow a user to use services provided by a plurality of different IPTV service providers, in a residential network of the Open IPTV functional architecture, there are such entities for relaying the plurality of IPTV service providers as application gateway (AG), IMS gateway (IG), and a Content and Service Protection (CSP) gateway (CG) entities. These relaying entities receive an IPTV service provided from a provider network which is located outside the residential network, and relay the IPTV service to a terminal entity located inside the residential network.